Lighthouses created by Little Hands

Ahoy Mateys! Over the summer our family has been traveling around the states finding beautiful state and national parks for our kids to explore. We came across several beautiful lighthouses in Michigan. We discussed with the kids that different shapes create the lighthouses.

 Square, semi circle, triangle and rectangle were some of the common shapes we found.

 I decided to have students create their own beautiful lighthouses with various art materials.

Directions for our fabulous lighthouse are as follows:

Step One: Students painted the background paper (9"x12") with liquid watercolors.  Let Dry.

Next, after we discussed the various lighthouse shapes, students created them out of construction paper and then added scraps of paper to create the windows. 

The ledge of the lighthouse walkway is painted paper cut into a strip then glued down. 

Lastly, students glued down squares of tissue paper and painted light rays with tempera paint and let dry.

Our Inspiration

Mackinac City Lighthouse

 White Fish Point, Michigan

Laura is an elementary art teacher and the author of the blog Painted Paper. She has presented her thematic units nationally at the National Art Education Association and Ohio Art Education Association Conferences. You can follow her updates on fun and creative projects for kids here.